Jeffco withdraws money, avoids classroom cuts
Written by Blair Shiff
JEFFERSON COUNTY - For the second year in a row, Jeffco Public Schools was in budget trouble. In order to not make cuts in the classroom, the Board decided to withdraw $5 million from the district's savings account.
Jeffco Public Schools and its employee associations worked on the tentative budget plan and agreed on it Friday.
"Our employees are helping to keep cuts out of the classroom by continuing to take furlough days which equates to $5 million in savings. They are doing that to ensure that our students receive an excellent education in Jeffco," Jeffco Superintendent Dr. Cindy Stevenson said.
When the district asked what the community valued, the overwhelming answer was teachers, the arts and the library. They saved those jobs for at least one more year, according to Lesley Dalhkemper, president of the Jefferson County Board of Education.
The Board of Education withdrew the $5 million from the district's savings account to help offset reductions for the 2012 to 2013 school year. The majority of the cuts for the 2012-2013 school year will be from central administration and other support functions.
According to officials at the school district, there are not planning on reducing staff. They also assured free, full-day kindergarten will continue and the two furlough days implemented in 2011-2012 will continue to be in effect.
They also outlined the following two points: funding for the Outdoor Lab schools will continue and Jeffco employees have taken a 3 percent compensation reduction over the past two school years.
"While we were able to save jobs and programs for one more year, that's not the case for the 2013-2014 school year. We are looking at a loss of more than 600 jobs, including teachers, teacher librarians, music teachers and counselors - everything that our community holds dear. In addition, we will no longer be able to support our Outdoor Lab schools, a program beloved by the community," said Dahlkemper.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
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